Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Extraordinary True Stories About Ordinary PeopleSudha Murty, chairperson, Infosys Foundation and author, is known for her ability to glean interesting stories from the lives of ordinary people and weave these narratives into a unique blend of anecdote and fable.

Her latest collection of stories, 'The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk', features a fascinating cast of characters, each of whom made an indelible impression on the author. Extracted here is a nugget from 'Bombay to Bangalore', one of the most heartwarming stories in this collection:

It was the beginning of summer. I was boarding Udyan Express at Gulbarga railway station. My destination was Bangalore. As I boarded the train, I saw that the second-class reserved compartment was jam-packed with people. I sat down and was pushed to the corner of the berth. Though it was meant for three people, there were already six of us sitting on it...

The ticket collector came in and started checking people's tickets and reservations.. Suddenly, he looked in my direction and asked, 'What about your ticket?' 'I have already shown my ticket to you,' I said.

'Not you, madam, the girl hiding below your berth. Hey, come out, where is your ticket?' I realized that someone was sitting below my berth. When the collector yelled at her, the girl came out of hiding.She was thin, dark, scared and looked like she had been crying profusely. She must have been about thirteen or fourteen years old.She had uncombed hair and was dressed in a torn skirt and blouse. She was trembling and folded both her hands.. The collector started forcibly pulling her out from the compartment. Suddenly, I had a strange feeling. I stood up and called out to the collector. 'Sir, I will pay for her ticket,' I said.

Then he looked at me and said, 'Madam, if you give her ten rupees, she will be much happier with that than with the ticket.'

I did not listen to him. I told the collector to give me a ticket to the last destination, Bangalore, so that the girl could get down wherever she wanted.

By this time, the train had reached Bangalore. I said goodbye to Chitra and got down from the train. My driver came and picked up my bags. I felt someone watching me. When I turned back, Chitra was standing there and looking at me with sad eyes. But there was nothing more that I could do. I had paid her ticket out of compassion but I had never thought that she was going to be my responsibility!...I told her to get into my car. My driver looked at the girl curiously. I told him to take us to my friend Ram's place. Ram ran separate shelter homes for boys and girls. We at the Infosys Foundation supported him financially. I thought Chitra could stay there for some time and we could talk about her future after I came back from my tours.

I was not sure if Chitra would even be there. But to my surprise, I saw Chitra looking much happier than before. Ram suggested that Chitra could go to a high school nearby. I immediately agreed and said that I would sponsor her expenses as long as she continued to study. I left the shelter knowing that Chitra had found a home and a new direction
in her life.

I got busier and my visits to the shelter reduced to once a year. But I always enquired about Chitra's well-being over the phone. I knew that she was studying well and that her progress was good.. I offered to sponsor her college studies if she wanted to continue studying. But she said, 'No, Akka. I have talked to my friends and made up my mind. I would like to do my diploma in computer science so that I can immediately get a job after three years.' She wanted to become economically independent as soon as possible.. Chitra obtained her diploma with flying colours. She also got a job in a software company as an assistant testing engineer. When she got her first salary, she came to my office with a sari and a box of sweets.

One day, when I was in Delhi, I got a call from Chitra. She was very happy. 'Akka, my company is sending me to USA! I wanted to meet you and take your blessings but you are not here in Bangalore.'.

Years passed. Occasionally, I received an e-mail from Chitra. She was doing very well in her career. She was posted across several cities in USA and was enjoying life. I silently prayed that she should always be happy wherever she was.

Years later, I was invited to deliver a lecture in San Francisco for Kannada Koota, an organization where families who speak Kannada meet and organize events. The lecture was in a convention hall of a hotel and I decided to stay at the same hotel. After the lecture, I was planning to leave for the airport. When I checked out of the hotel room and went to the reception counter to pay the bill, the receptionist said, 'Ma'am, you don't need to pay us anything. The lady over there has already settled your bill. She must know you pretty well.' I turned around and found Chitra there.

She was standing with a young white man and wore a beautiful sari. She was looking very pretty with short hair. Her dark eyes were beaming with happiness and pride. As soon as she saw me, she gave me a brilliant smile, hugged me and touched my feet. I was overwhelmed with joy and did not know what to say. I was very happy to see the way things had turned out for Chitra. But I came back to my original question. 'Chitra, why did you pay my hotel bill? That is not right.' suddenly sobbing, she hugged me and said, 'Because you paid for my ticket from Bombay to Bangalore!'

(Excerpted with permission from Penguin Books India from Sudha Murty's 'The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk: Life Stories From Here and There')

Sunday, January 6, 2013

A beautiful post from THE P.H.P (a personal blog).Here you go :LET'S UNDERSTAND THE NATIONS IN RESPECT OF BOVINE ECONOMICS::

TRADITIONAL ECONOMICS:You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.You retire on the income.

INDIAN ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You worship them.

PAKISTANI ECONOMICS:You don't have any cows.You claim that the Indian cows belong to you.You ask the US for financial aid,China for military aid,Britain for warplanes,Italy for machines,Germany for technology,France for submarines,Switzerland for loans,Russia for drugs andJapan for equipment.You buy the cows with all this and claim of exploitation by the world.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.You profess surprise when the cow drops dead.You put the blame on some nation with cows & naturally that nation will be a danger to mankind.You wage a war to save the world and grab the cows.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You redesign them so that they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.You then create cute cartoon cow images called 'Cowkimon' and market them worldwide.

CHINESE ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You have 300 people milking them.You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest anyone reporting the actual numbers.

RUSSIAN ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You count them and learn you have five cows.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.You count them again and learn you have 17 cows.You give up counting and open another bottle of Vodka

FRENCH ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You re-engineer them so that they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS:You have two cows.They are both mad.

ITALIAN ECONOMICS:You have two cows.You don't know where they are.You break for lunch.

SWISS ECONOMICS:You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you.You charge others for storing them.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Chuan and Jing joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. Both worked very hard.

After several years, the boss promoted Jing to sales executive but Chuan remained a Sales Representative.

One day Chuan could not take it anymore, tender resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

The boss knew that Chuan worked very hard for the years, but in order to help Chuan realize the difference between him and Jing, the boss asked Chuan to do the following.

Go and find out anyone selling water melon in the market?

Chuan returned and said yes. The boss asked how much per kg? Chuan went back to the market to ask and returned to inform boss the $12 per kg.

Boss told Chuan, I will ask Jing the same question?

Jing went, returned and said, boss, only one person selling water melon. $12 per kg, $100 for 10 kg, he has inventory of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, every melon weighs about 15 kg, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.

Chuan was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Jing. He decided not to resign but to learn from Jing.

Moral of the Story : A more successful person is more observant, think more and understand in depth. For the same matter, a more successful person sees several years ahead, while you see only tomorrow.